SARS-CoV-2 Infection Via the Oral Exposure In Hamsters
Abstract
COVID-19 is a global public health emergency caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Food safety is a major consideration during a pandemic. Food products, such as produce, may become inadvertently contaminated when displayed in grocery stores here in the United States. Moreover, a fecal-oral transmission risk may exist due to the prolonged excretion of SARS-CoV-2 from the gastrointestinal tract: several reports have identified the presence of high levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in feces, although infectious virus has not yet been recovered. We do not currently know the risk posed by oral exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The SARS-CoV-2 virus infects human cells by binding to the ACE2 receptor. The hamster has a similar ACE2 gene to the human and therefore is a good candidate for an animal model of COVID-19. Our first study of oral inoculation of hamsters indicated shedding of viral RNA in the feces for at least 7 days with the UK variant. The objective of this study was to determine the duration of viral RNA shedding for up to 21 days as well as examine pathology following oral exposure to the virus at 7, 14, and 21 days after exposure. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the feces of hamsters up until the last day of study, 21 days after exposure. There were pathology findings in the lungs and nasal turbinates, but not in any of the gastro-intestinal (GI) tissues. Flourescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was conducted on GI and other tissues. We found that virus was persistent in stomach and small intestine, as well as in kidney. These findings indicate that oral delivery of SARS-CoV-2 can establish infection in the GI as well as other (kidney) tissue. The infection results in shedding of virus for up to 21 days. The infection can also spread to the respiratory tract, but it is unclear how the infection travels from the GI to the respiratory tract.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1193492
Entities
People
- Carl Gelhaus
- Gene Olinger
- Kent Lohman
- Phillip H. Beske
- William Sosna